Court Upholds Ban Against Topless Bar

MELBOURNE — An appeal court in Daytona Beach has upheld a temporary injunction against Thee Doll House IV in Melbourne for operating a topless bar in an area where adult entertainment is prohibited.

In March, Thee Doll House IV opened at 665 Apollo Blvd. The city went to court and Brevard Circuit Judge Edward Jackson issued a temporary injunction against adult entertainment at the site although he said the business could operate as a bar. A week later, he ordered the bar closed for violating his order. ATS Melbourne Inc., which owns the bar, appealed Jackson's ruling on the grounds that the Melbourne zoning ordinance violated the constitutional First Amendment right to free speech.

In upholding Jackson's decision, Judge C.J. Cobb of the 5th District Court of Appeal pointed out that Thee Doll House IV is in a zone where adult businesses are prohibited. Melbourne has three other zones where adult businesses may open after they get a conditional-use permit from the city council and pay a $250 license. The owners of Thee Doll House IV did not apply for a conditional use permit and did not request a license.

Richard Wilson, the Orlando attorney representing Thee Doll House IV, argued in the appeal that the Melbourne zoning ordinance requiring conditional-use permits for all adult businesses, and giving the city council the right to deny them is a device designed to prohibit adult business in the city, which is a violation of the First Amendment.

But Cobb said that because Thee Doll House IV did not even apply for a permit the business could not prove that it would have been wrongfully rejected by the city if it had tried to open in an area zoned for adult business.

Cobb found the Melbourne zoning law valid because no evidence showed that it had been unconstitutionally applied against Thee Doll House IV.